Saturday, May 4, 2013

Days away from high school graduation, with hardly a penny to his name, Evan Lowry needs to earn money for college. When he comes across an ad for modeling, he thinks his luck has changed—until he learns he’s interviewing for an adult film and will be expected to have sex. On camera. With other men. For gay porn star Brandon Court, the shine has worn off of regular shoots. He and his producer, Les, decide to try something new: a reality-show porno set at a beach house. When he meets wide-eyed and naïve Evan for the first time, Brandon isn’t sure if he wants the kid to get lost or get naked. Naked wins. On set, Brandon takes Evan under his wing, and over the next month, they are thrown together in every intimate way conceivable—except emotionally. Both Brandon and Evan are terrified of trying for anything deeper, and insecurities and doubts wear on their hopes, but the chemistry between them won’t let them slow things down.

My review: The basis for this story is The Real World meets Queer as Folk. Brandon Court (aka Noah) is a gay porn star that has tired of the strain and requirements of his job that he used to like. On his next shoot he will not only be in front of the camera, but behind it as well. Deciding to take several other guys to a beach house and act out a scripted Melrose Place for gays!

Evan Lowry (aka Jackson) has just graduated high school and hops the first bus out of town, getting as far away from his homophobic, alcoholic step dad as possible. Thinking it will be easy money before he starts college, he answers an ad for a modeling job. It turns out to be for an adult film and the interview lands him right in Brandon's lap, literally!

The worst part about this book is how fast Brandon and Evan fall in love, the best part about this book is how fast Brandon and Evan fall in love. Yes, you read that right. It's completely unrealistic, but it fits for this story so I'm a bit torn about that aspect. The question is, will Brandon be able to set aside his professional life and his hang-ups about holding Evan back if he admits his feelings for him? Or will the young, naïve young man get his heart broken for loving Brandon so fearlessly? Will Brandon be able to keep his sweets?

Once I got past the insta love, this really was a well written love story between two guys that ended up together due to a happy circumstance. The sex if off the chain! The way that these two love each other is intense and passionate and it translates quite well when reading it. I had to wipe the steam off my kindle a couple of times! This is definitely a must read for fans of the genre.

Author Bio: Cate Ashwood wrote her very first story in a hot pink binder when she was in the second grade and found her passion for writing. Her first successful foray into romance writing came five years later when she wrote her best friend, who was experiencing a case of unrequited love, her own happily ever after.

Cate was kind enough to answer a few questions for me about herself and her fantastic book!

Tell us more about yourself. Where were you born and where do you call home?

I was born in Victoria, B.C., but now live just outside of Vancouver with my husband. I am in my last month of school. I had been teaching for the last five years, but decided recently that I needed a change, so enrolled back at school to work in the lab at the hospital now instead. So far, I am really loving it.

When I am not reading/writing/working, I love to travel. My husband and I sneak away on mini-vacations whenever we can. We try to make it down to Oregon at least once a year (and now it’s even more special to us because that’s where we got married last year), and after next week, we will have been to Disneyland five times in five years.

For those who are unfamiliar with Keeping Sweets, how would you introduce it?

It’s a story about a couple of porn stars who fall in love, but it’s not your typical sex-worker story. Evan is young, naïve, and innocent in a sort of wide-eyed and vulnerable way. Bran is a much older and more jaded. He’s closed himself off to any sort of deep emotion, and is basically going through the motions when it comes to day to day life. Evan opens up his world for him a little bit. I think it comes across as being a little sweeter and a little more romantic maybe. It’s more about the people than their profession, not that there aren’t a couple of pretty steamy scenes in there.

What was the concept behind the story for Keeping Sweets?

There wasn’t much of a concept when I first started writing it, to be honest. The whole story started with a picture in my head of this beautiful lake in the middle of the woods, and kind of evolved from there. I just started writing it one day, and kept on writing until I got to the scene with the lake. The initial idea didn’t even end up in the book—the lake became the ocean and everything kind of fell into place for me as I wrote it. It was a definite pantser story.

What are the pro's and con's to being a M/M Author?

There are so many great things about being an m/m author. I think the biggest is the sense of community that exists between the writers and the readers. In terms of the other authors, it’s such a small genre that everyone gets to know everyone else. It was a little surreal for me when I first started out. I was on one of the forums for my publisher and all these people were messaging back and forth, and I had been reading their books for years, and here they were, chatting with me. I was more than a little star struck. Everyone is so nice though, and eternally supportive. Writing my second book was much easier than writing my first, because there were so many people there who were happy to answer any questions and help me in any way they could. It’s been really fantastic.

The biggest con of writing m/m for me is the lack of understanding from people. I know that it’s only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the ignorance that LGBT people are faced with in their daily lives, but it can be frustrating. I’m new, but have already experienced people telling me that I can’t possible write gay men accurately because I am not a gay man. On the other side of that coin, I’ve had people tell me that I am a wonderful writer, and I should really try writing a “real book”. The genre seems to be growing though, and becoming more popular. I’m hoping that as the number of readers increases, the stigmas that are associated with it will disappear.

Whom in your life would you say has influenced you the most?

Is it too corny to say my family? It is true though. We are closer than most families I know. My sister lives on the other side of the continent and my parents live four hours away, but we all talk to one another at least once a day. My parents were the first people to really encourage me to read, and even though they were both incredibly busy, they always took the time for books before bed. It started there, and then was supported and developed throughout my life. Writing is just a new evolution of my love of books.

What has been the most interesting comment (or review) you've received for Keeping Sweets?

Quite honestly, the majority of the feedback I have gotten has been great. I don’t mean that I’ve received nothing but glowing five star reviews (although, those feel pretty fantastic to get), but as a brand new author, feedback from readers is really important. It helps me improve as a writer and inspires me to get back to the keyboard and write.

There are a couple of reviews that have confused me a little, and I’ve even been praised and criticized for the exact same thing, but no two people experience a book the same way, so I can’t expect everyone to have the same opinions either. All I can do is appreciate the good and try to learn from the bad.

Who is YOUR favorite Author?

That is an impossible question to answer. I don’t think I could narrow it down if my life depended on it. There are so many. If I could get away with it, I would love to do nothing but read all day.

What are you reading right now?

I’m going to be at GRL this year as a supporting author. I’ve made it my goal to try to read at least one book from each of the authors attending before October. There are so many amazing writers that are going to be there, and discovering the newbie authors is great too. Kade Boehme (Wide Awake and You Can Still See the Stars in Seattle), Carter Quinn (The Way Back), Lex Chase (Pawn Takes Rook), and Lily Velden (Gay as Mardi Gras) are some of the newbies that I’ve read in the past couple of months who are going to be attending GRL. Skylar M. Cates (Exposed), F.E. Feeley (The Haunting of Timber Manor) and Andrew Q. Gordon (The Last Grand Master) won’t be at GRL, but are newbies who are also definitely worth mentioning.

There are also some up-and-coming novels that I have been fortunate enough to read before their release that are really amazing. Will Parkinson has a couple of stories coming out in the next few months (Pitch and 500 Miles), and L.J. LaBarthe has several books in her Archangel series. They are all are awesome.

Tell us your latest news. Is there a sequel in the works? Or a new project we can sink our teeth into??

Things have been fairly busy for me writing-wise in the last year. I have a story that is coming out as part of Dreamspinner Press’ June Daily Dose called Riding the Board, which is about two synchronized divers. I have a three novel series that has been submitted to my publisher, so I am just waiting to hear back on those. In the meantime I’ve started working on a spin-off novel from Keeping Sweets. It’s Colt’s story and I’m really enjoying writing it so far. It takes place six years after Sweets ends and has a completely different feel to it. I’m also working on another novel about a dancer that is set in Vancouver, and am having so much fun writing a story set where I live.﻿

Here's a sneak peak at Cate's next novel, coming June 2013....

Riding the Board:

Blake Emmerich arrives at practice, already apprehensive, to meet his new synchronized diving partner. When he sees Nick Freeman, Blake doesn’t feel confident about their chances. The day begins with Nick pushing Blake off the ten meter and ends with their coach cuffing them together to force them to deal with each other like the adults they’re supposed to be. Synchronized diving is about trust—how can you trust someone you can’t stand, no matter how hot you think they are?

A huge thank you to Author Cate Ashwood for taking time to share with us!

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